Report: Devils still interested in Bruins goalie Linus Ullmark originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The Boston Bruins need to figure out their goaltending situation in the coming months.
Jeremy Swayman established himself as the franchise’s clear No. 1 goaltender with a stellar performance in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. He’s in line for a huge raise this summer as a restricted free agent. Working out a long-term extension with Swayman should be the team’s top priority this offseason.
The real conundrum is what to do about Linus Ullmark. The 2023 Vezina Trophy winner has one year left on his contract with a $5 million salary cap hit. Assuming Swayman gets at least $5 million per year in his next deal, the Bruins would spend at least $10 million in salary cap space on goaltenders in 2024-2025. That’s too high a number for a team like the B’s, who still need to address other roster weaknesses, most notably a lack of top talent in the top six forwards.
Trading Ullmark makes the most sense, but it’s not the easiest move to make. For starters, Ullmark has included a 16-team no-trade list in his contract, which gives him some control over the process.
If the Bruins try to trade him, there is one team to keep an eye on: the New Jersey Devils.
The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun reported Tuesday that the Devils still have interest in Ullmark, along with Calgary Flames netminder Jacob Markstrom.
“League sources said (Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald) continues to express interest in Jacob Markstrom of the Calgary Flames, whom he tried hard to acquire before the March 8 trade deadline, as well as Linus Ullmark of the Boston Bruins,” LeBrun wrote. “There are other possibilities, but these two names would be at the top of New Jersey’s list.”
In October, the Devils were a trendy pick to reach the Stanley Cup Final. They looked like a team on the rise. But a terrible 2023-24 regular season saw the team miss the playoffs. Goaltending was a major reason for those issues, as New Jersey ranked 30th out of 32 teams with a save percentage of .885.
The Devils have the No. 10 pick in the draft and general manager Tom Fitzgerald told NHL.com’s Mike G. Morreale earlier this week that he is willing to trade it.
“If we feel like it will help us now and in the near future, then I will certainly listen,” Fitzgerald said. “I haven’t gotten anything yet, but the more I talk to teams I’m saying, ‘Listen, I’m open to moving No. 10, but it’s going to have to be something (significant).’”
Fitzgerald also told Morreale that he was looking for a goalkeeper.
“I’m in the goalkeeper market and talking to teams, but there is a ‘but’ and the ‘but’ is: how do we want to build our team?” said Fitzgerald. “We’d like to add it to the front, we’d like to add it to the back as well, so what are those pieces going to cost us? What’s that going to cost us with goaltending?
“Does the No. 10 pick give you that type of player that you can add to the group? It’s easy to say, ‘Go get so-and-so and then you build from there.’ But there are guys with different contracts, so how are those players going to reprice? There’s a lot involved, but yes, the focus is on finding that goalkeeper.”
The Bruins do not have a first-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. They also have no first-round picks in 2023, 2022, 2020 and 2018. The No. 10 pick would be a win-now team like the Not really helping the Bruins unless they could turn it around for a player who could contribute immediately. .
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The Devils have $18 million in salary cap space, per CapFriendly, so they can absorb Ullmark’s entire salary cap space. Freeing up $5 million in space would be a huge win for the Bruins.
It’s going to be an interesting few weeks leading up to the NHL Draft on June 26. Several teams could use a goalkeeper upgrade. The Bruins need to take advantage of this situation and find a deal for Ullmark.
